[pyalot2]

I'm pretty sure it's meant hyperbolic. But we've all had this , it doesn't end with a phone call either.

If somebody who wants something from you can't summarize in a few written sentences what they want from you, it's exceedingly likely no amount of writing or talking is gonna remedy that. If you engage clients like that, you'll end up being very, very sorry.

[jfasi]

I agree with you when it comes to clients. Clients want to hire you to do a specific piece of work, and in that case vague, open-ended agreements are indeed poison. When it comes to partnerships, however, the mutually beneficial agreement might not be immediately obvious. It's entirely possible that a "get to know you" sort of conversation will be necessary, will turn out to be very fruitful, and would be impossible to have over email. Also keep in mind, they're vetting you as much as you're vetting them. They want to get a feel for you as a potential partner, and if you behave like the author from the get-go, it's likely not in their best interests to not work with you.

To my second point, if you say you're in charge of product development, it's your job to dive into these sorts of conversations on the off chance they might develop into meaningful partnerships. I can be annoying and frustrating, and it certainly can seem wasteful to someone with an engineer's mindset, but that's why it's a job and not a hobby. Expecting people to come to you with perfectly-fitting opportunities gift wrapped in exactly the communication style you use will keep you from ever achieving anything.

[kreeben]

So the most grownup thing to do would be to just agree to meet the guy, yes? I can agree with that. But why not answer a few questions like, are you prospecting for people to hire? Are you looking for a partnership? What kind of partnership? What software are you interested in? I have tons, see. No, nothing, you can give me nothing? Alright, bye.